Girls basketball: State-bound Blue Devils end Sigourney's run
Feb. 22—MARTENSDALE — There's a chance that Carly Goodwin hasn't seen the last of Martensdale-St. Mary's.
If the Sigourney senior sees the Blue Devils again this year, it will be on a softball diamond. There's a chance that her last basketball game for the Savages will be serving as added motivation for one of the state's best prep pitchers.
Martensdale-St. Mary's used an impressive shooting effort to end the run of the Sigourney girls basketball team on Friday in the Class 1A, Region 3 semifinals. The sixth-ranked Blue Devils sank 14 of 29 shots from 3-point territory, pulling away for a 76-35 win over the Savages.
"I think we all kind of all hate how this feels. At least I hope everyone hates how this feels right now," Goodwin said. "Hopefully, we can use this for motivation for the upcoming (softball) season.
"We may see them next season, maybe even at state. If that happens, I'll definitely remember how this feels as motivation to not let it happen again."
The loss brought to an end a 13-game winning streak for Sigourney which began after returning from the holiday break. The Savages hadn't lost in the calendar year and had only allowed one team (Montezuma) to score over 50 points in any contest throughout the season.
Martesndale-St. Mary's, however, was well on its way to surpassing 50 points after putting up 41 points in the first half. The Blue Devils hit 56 percent of their shots from the field in the opening 16 minutes, including seven made 3-pointers in 16 attempts, on the way to building a 41-21 halftime lead over the Savages.
"You never want a season to end, especially this way, but Martensdale-St. Mary's is a great team," Sigourney head girls basketball coach Schay Moore said. "We knew it was going to be tough. The teams we play, they might have one or two good shooters. Martensdale-St. Mary's has four or five good shooters.
"We knew it would be tough. We weren't sure which defense would help us. Unfortunately, the couple that we tried just didn't work."
Martensdale-St. Mary's showcased its versatility in the Class 1A, Region 3 finals on Tuesday night. Despite being held to 30 percent shooting and just three made field goals by 12th-ranked Fremont-Mills, the Blue Devils used their tenacious defense to limit the Knights to four points in the first quarter on the way to a 42-34 win, clinching a trip to the Iowa High School Girls State Basketball Tournament.
Like Sigourney, Fremont-Mills entered their postseason encounter with the Blue Devils riding a long winning streak. The Knights were 23-0 entering Tuesday's regional final.
Sophia Shannon led Martensdale-St. Mary's on Tuesday, scoring 18 points sinking six of 10 field goal attempts while sinking all three of the Blue Devils' 3-pointers. Against Sigourney, it was Carolyn Amfahr that had the hottest hand sinking nearly 69 percent of her shots from the field, making 11 of 16 field goal attempts including seven made 3-pointers as part of a 29-point scoring effort against the Savages.
"They have a five-guard set. We have three guards and two posts, so we kind of knew going in that we didn't match up very well," Goodwin said. "We had to try to play different defenses, but it was hard to be able to know how to guard them in man and how to guard them in a 2-3 zone or how to guard them in a 1-3-1.
"You have to give them a lot of credit. They hit just about every shot they took. You just have to wish them the best of luck throughout their postseason run."
Shannon added 20 points, seven rebounds and six assists for Martensdale-St. Mary's against Sigourney. Brynnly German added a double-double for the Blue Devils with 18 points and a team-leading 10 assists.
Erin Dawson led Sigourney with 11 points in her final prep basketball game for the Savages while adding seven of Sigourney's 30 rebounds. Goodwin, who reached 1,000 career points earlier this season, finished with nine points on Friday while fellow senior Amiya Smallwood led Sigourney in the final game of the season with nine rebounds and four assists.
"Coach has always preached to us to never quit no matter what the scoreboard says," Dawson said. "You can finally rest when the clock hits zero. I was just really going out there and leaving it all on the court no matter what.
"You can't go back and change the score of this game. You can't change it now. We had a good season and I'm glad I could do good things for this team."
Martensdale-St. Mary's (18-6) will open play in the Class 1A state tournament on Wednesday at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines facing Remsen St. Mary's (23-0) at approximately 6:45 p.m. Sigourney, meanwhile, closed out a 19-5 season producing the most single-season victories in seven years for the program.
For Moore, the end of the season was even more emotional with her daughter, Goodwin, among the five seniors that played their final high school basketball game for the Savages on Friday. Goodwin was the last senior to leave the court on Friday, sharing a long and emotional hug with her mother and head coach.
"I've been the coach of all of those girls since they were in second grade," Moore said. "I always say that they feel like they're all my kids, but it was a really special moment between Carly and I.
"It's sad. My mom and I have that special connection through basketball," Goodwin added. "Being able to grow as a player and having her as a role model is really special."
— Scott Jackson can be reached at sjackson@ottumwacourier.com. Follow him on Twitter@CourierScott.
